Netflix Adds Lionsgate To UK Line-Up; Look Out, Lovefilm

Lovefilm and even Sky Movies, be afraid. Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) is reeling off its second exclusive studio deal as it prepares to launch in the UK and Ireland in early 2012.

After last week’s exclusive MGM deal, now Netflix has also bought a multi-year exclusive on streaming Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) UK titles via subscription in the pay-TV window.

Titles including the Dirty Dancing remake and The Expendables 2 will appear on Netflix within a year of their theatrical release. Release.

Sky Movies currently has exclusive deals with Hollywood’s six largest studios (Sony (NYSE: SNE), Disney (NYSE: DIS), 20th Century Fox (NSDQ: NWS), Paramount (NYSE: VIA), Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX) Universal) for linear and SVOD via subscription, but it may be forced to break up its offering in the new year after the Competition Commission provisionally ruled its tie-up anti-competitive.

For pay-per-view (six months after cinema), as opposed to subscription, rights are non-exclusive and held by several operators.

Netflix is spending so much on its international roll-out that it is pushing the company to an overall loss.

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Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) paid a total £200 million for Lovefilm up to January 2011 but Lovefilm’s online catalogue is poor compared with its DVD rental offering.

Amazon will likely need to figure something out for Lovefilm in 2012 but it is coming under a heavy challenge from well-resourced Netflix.